TIRANA – European Commissioner for Enlargement Olivér Várhelyi stated at the Economic Forum in Tirana that all conditions were met for Albania to start negotiations with the EU, while for North Macedonia it was important to quickly find a mutually acceptable solution to bilateral issues with Bulgaria.
“The Commission believes that all conditions have been met for the first intergovernmental conference with Albania to start negotiations with the EU, thanks to important reforms in the election law, the rule of law and the judiciary, including the vetting of judges and prosecutors,” said the Commissioner, META reports.
Várhelyi said that he hoped that the first intergovernmental conferences will be held as soon as possible, during the Portuguese Presidency of the Union.
Prime Minister of North Macedonia Zoran Zaev said that the country met and would meet all the conditions necessary for membership in the European Union (EU), that it was the first country in the region to sign the Stabilization and Association Agreement in 2001, that in just 4 years later it became a candidate country for EU membership, but that even after 16 years it is in the waiting room of the EU.
“North Macedonia has never had any other interest than to cohabit peacefully and with dignity with its neighbors and with all nations and ethnicities in Europe. But to be crystal clear and to repeat once again the position of the Government: we will never allow ourselves to discuss what cannot be discussed. That is who we are, what are our identity attributes and what is the genesis of our statehood and language,” said Prime Minister Zaev at the Economic Forum in Tirana.